CHAMPION jockey Derek O’Connor enjoyed the perfect start to the new point-to-point season when teaming up with his brother Paurick to land a double at last Saturday’s County Limerick Hunt opening day fixture at Rathcannon.

 

The 2012/13 season looks like being a very competitive campaign and the O’Connor brothers were quickly off the mark when taking the winners of two races with market drifter Olor (2/1-100/30).

Owned by Tubber publicans Gerard and Maria Flaherty, Olor had caught the eye when taking his maiden at Quakerstown last Easter and the son of Winged Love showed that his graph is going the right way with a smooth follow-up here.

Settled in mid-division in the early stages, the five-year-old made swift progress on the inner approaching the second-last fence, before digging deep on the uphill climb to the post to beat 6/4 favourite Thetalkinisover by a length and a half.

“This is a lovely horse and we hope to have a good bit of fun with him,” said winning trainer Paurick O’Connor, who has 20 horses under his wing at his Tubber yard. “Not too many five-year-olds score in winners’ races and this fellow has progressed. He jumped great today and his next outing will be in a winners-of-three contest at Loughrea.”

Later in the afternoon, the O’Connor clan went on to complete their double as the impressive Tyrone Golden Rain (1/1F) ran out a facile winner of the open lightweight.

Always coasting along in this eight-runner contest, Tyrone Golden Rain glided to the front at the second-last fence, with Derek O’Connor only having to guide the market leader towards the winning post as he stormed clear to beat Cathy Harrison’s Hang On Groovy by eight lengths.

A prolific sort, Tyrone Golden Rain is a top performer on his day and his trainer was thrilled with his latest effort. He said, “This horse is back to his best. He just wasn’t right last season, but I knew he was on song coming here today. He’s a lovely horse to have and we hope to have a few more good days out of him this season.”

A big crowd turned up at the Shannonside venue with Wexford rider Jamie Codd quickly into his stride when taking the opening two races.

Codd joined forces with fellow county man Denis Murphy to claim the opening four-year-old maiden aboard the gambled-on The Skyfarmer (6/1-2/1).

The winner, who races in the silks of Portroe, County Tipperary farmer Pat Coffey, displayed a nice turn of foot in the closing stages to beat Sam Curling’s promising Guido D’Arezzo by three lengths.

Half an hour later, Codd was back in the winner’s enclosure when guiding ex-track performer Kitts Delight (2/1) to victory in the five and six-year-old mares’ maiden.

Trained in County Laois by Mark Quigley for the Red Rock Syndicate, Kitts Delight put her experience to good use when staying on powerfully on the uphill climb to the post to beat Tell Me Lucy by two lengths.

Cork trainer Paul Cashman appears to have a useful recruit on his hands in Abbey Storm, who ran out a ready winner of the second division of the five and six-year-old geldings’ maiden. Fermoy jockey Larry Murphy did the steering aboard the son of Presenting, who accounted for Whispering Hills by four lengths.

The first division was won by another Cork raider as A Hill To Climb (4/1-6/1), trained in Castletownroche by Kevin O’Sullivan and ridden by Mikey O’Connor, came out the right side of a very tight finish when beating Shingle Bay by a head.

Proceedings came to a close with an older horses’ maiden, where 4/1 shot Plettenburg Bay scored for Dungarvan trainer Pat Crowley and jockey Pat Collins.

Super Sunday at Tipperary

ARGUABLY the first salvo in the new jumping season will be fired at Tipperary next Sunday, where their eight-race mixed card has something for everyone.

Dubbed ‘Super Sunday’ because of it high-profile content, National Hunt fans will be hoping the upward curve in the jumping career of Galway Hurdle hero Rebel Fitz continues if, as expected, he lines up in the Grade 2 Friends of Tipperary Hurdle.

Unbeaten in his last four starts, Rebel Fitz posted his most recent success when he was a smooth winner of a conditions hurdle at Cork and he carries big hopes going into Sunday’s race. He faces a stiff task, however, with vastly more experienced Thousand Stars, whose colours will be hard to lower.

Willie Mullins’ dual French Champion Hurdle winner hasn’t been seen since filling third behind stable companion Hurricane Fly at Punchestown in the spring but he’s all class. Classy chaser Captain Cee Bee also holds an entry, while others listed for duty in the two-mile contest include Kieran Purcell’s Burrenbridge Lodge and One Cool Shabra from the colourful Oliver Brady’s Monaghan yard.

Elsewhere on the card, the Grade 3 Like A Butterfly Novice Chase has attracted 13 entries with recent Listowel winner Pride Of The Arctic looking the one to beat here.

Flat racing fans are also catered for, with the card also featuring the Group 3 Coolmore Home of Champions Concorde Stakes over seven furlongs.

Nenagh trainer Tom Hogan has been considering this race as a possible target for his Haydock Sprint Cup runner-up Gordon Lord Byron but the Morgan Cahalan-owned four-year-old would not want the ground to come up too soft.

He is the highest rated horse in the race on 115 with Ballydoyle entry Starspangledbanner officially next best on two pounds lower but ground conditions will surely play a big part in the final line-up for this €65,000 event.

Meanwhile, the eyes of the international racing world will be on Paris on Sunday, where the Prix De L’Arc de Triomphe is taking centre stage at Longchamp.

While the final field will not be known until later in the week, there were a couple of high-profile casualties earlier this week as Danedream and John Gosden’s Nathaniel were both ruled out of the race.

Aidan O’Brien has left his Investec Derby winner Camelot among the final 18 acceptors for the race, while Andre Fabre, who already has seven Arc victories to his name, looks like being double-handed, courtesy of Meandre and Masterstroke.